The Turkish government is facing a mounting backlash after issuing hundreds of thousands speeding tickets with help of AI-powered detectors during the Eid al-Adha holiday, prompting accusations of using traffic enforcement as a revenue tool, Turkish media outlets reported.
The resulting fines, uploaded in real time to the country’s e-Government system, were issued by new-generation radar devices deployed nationwide during the peak travel period.
According to official data, over 23,000 vehicles were fined in a single day just before Eid, while 2.6 million vehicles were on the roads.
Drivers reported receiving multiple tickets within minutes, some totaling thousands of Turkish lira.
Critics argue the radar devices were intentionally installed in areas with sudden speed limit drops — in some cases to as low as 30 kilometers per hour — and without proper signage.
Lawyers and civil society groups say the practice violates legal standards and amounts to entrapment.
A 2019 court decision is now being used to challenge the legality of the fines, citing that radar enforcement must be clearly visible and signposted.
In that ruling a Manisa court canceled a speeding ticket after finding that the radar vehicle had been hidden and no speed limit warnings were posted on the road.
The court concluded that such enforcement practices are inconsistent with the principles of the rule of law and “amounted to setting a trap” for drivers.
Lawyers argue that this precedent could lead to the cancellation of thousands of fines issued during the Eid holiday period.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya defended the crackdown, saying the aim was to “prevent fatalities, not issue fines,” and praised the 99 percent of drivers who followed the rules.
Yet critics — including figures within President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) — say the measures appear to prioritize revenue collection over public safety.
The controversy has triggered internal debate within the AKP, with members of its Central Executive Committee reportedly urging leadership to “review the numbers again.”
Some AKP lawmakers acknowledged receiving a high volume of complaints, including from party supporters, over what they called “penalty traps.”
Social media platforms flooded with stories from citizens who said their holiday bonuses — approximately 3,000 lira paid out by the government — were wiped out by radar fines.
Former AKP lawmaker Şamil Tayyar said the backlash had united citizens across political lines, calling the program “cunning” and warning it was undermining public trust.
Tayyar and others emphasized that the criticism was not against traffic safety rules themselves but against their “weaponized” implementation in ways that confuse and punish drivers.
The Turkish government collected 53.5 billion lira in traffic fines in the first four months of 2025, according to official figures.
Meanwhile, a new traffic law drafted by AKP lawmakers proposes significantly harsher penalties.
If passed, the legislation would impose fines of up to 30,000 lira for excessive speeding and up to 60,000 lira for overloaded commercial vehicles.
The bill has already passed Turkey’s parliamentary Justice Committee and is expected to reach the full legislature after the holiday.
Opposition lawmakers have called it a “hidden supplementary budget” designed to make up for economic shortfalls by targeting citizens through fines.
Opposition lawmaker İnan Akgün Alp warned that under the proposed penalties, “some citizens may not even be able to afford to take their cars on the road.”
Alp added that fairness in penalties must be ensured, especially during a time of high inflation and widespread economic hardship.
Turkey’s interior ministry has said inspections will continue through June 11, supported by over 34,000 personnel, drones, helicopters and 1,485 mobile radar units.
Yerlikaya said radar checks now take place every 30 kilometers along major highways and emphasized that the system is intended to protect lives, not penalize citizens.
Still, with 10 deaths and over 1,300 injuries recorded during just one day of the Eid travel period, critics argue the current approach is not achieving its stated goal.
Legal experts, opposition figures and even members of the ruling party are now calling for a full review of Turkey’s radar enforcement policies before public trust erodes even further.